Paid News

1. Paid News

2. Paid News has been defined by PCI as - Any news or analysis appearing in any media (Print & Electronic) for a price in cash or kind as consideration. • Press Council of India guidelines say- news should be clearly demarcated from advertisements by printing disclaimers, should be strictly enforced by all publications. As far as news is concerned, it must always carry a credit line and should be set in a typeface that would distinguish it from advertisements.

3. Background • Political parties and media groups had approached the Commission requesting for strong steps against Paid News. Parliament also discussed the issue. • There was consensus among all political parties in their meeting with the Commission on 4th October 2010 and again on 9th March, 2011 that stringent measures should be taken against Paid News.

4. The malaise • Paid News misleads the public and hampers the ability of people to form correct opinions. • Paid News causes undue influence on voters and also affects their Right to Information. • Paid News seeks to circumvent election expenditure laws/ ceiling • Paid News adversely affects level playing field

5. How to check • Make ‘Paid News’ an electoral offence through amendment of RP Act, 1951 • Use existing mechanisms of expenditure ceiling to curb the menace • Partner with stakeholders, including political parties and media to fight the menace • Sensitise people on the subject

6. Electoral Reforms proposed By ECI on Paid News • Amendment in the R P Act 1951, to provide therein that publishing and abetting the publishing of `paid news’ for furthering the prospect of election of any candidate or for prejudicially affecting the prospect of election of any candidate be made an electoral offence under chapter-III of Part-VII of R P Act, 1951 with punishment of a minimum of two years imprisonment. Date of proposal – 3rd February, 2011

7. Steps taken by ECI • Starting with June 2010, ECI has issued instructions to state and district officers to scrutinize, identify and report cases of Paid News. • The Commission has appointed a Media Certification & Monitoring Committee (MCMC) at District and State level for checking Paid News. • The Committee has Officers from Ministry of I&B and State DIPR. • The Committee will scrutinise all media within its jurisdiction to identify political advertisement in the garb of news. • MCMC shall also actively consider paid news cases referred to it by the Expenditure Observers.

8. District MCMC shall intimate the Returning Officer for issue of notices to candidates for inclusion of actual expenditure on the published matter in their election expenses account • or notional expenditure based on DIPR rates in their election expenses account irrespective of whether the candidate actually has paid or not paid any amount to the channel/newspaper. • A copy of the notice shall also be marked to Expenditure Observer. District MCMC

9. On reference from District MCMC, RO shall give notice to the candidates within 96 hrs of publication/ broadcast/telecast/receipt of complaint to explain why expenditure should not be added to the candidate’s expenditure. • District MCMC shall decide on the reply expeditiously and convey to the Candidate/Party its final decision. • In case no reply is received by District MCMC from the candidate within 48 hrs of serving of notice, the decision of MCMC will be final. • If decision of District level MCMC is not acceptable to the candidate, he/she may appeal to State level MCMC within 48 hrs of receipt of decision, with information to the District MCMC.

10. Appeal Mechanism • The State level MCMC shall dispose of the case within 96 hrs of receipt of appeal and convey the decision to the Candidate with a copy to District level MCMC. • The Candidate may appeal against the decision of State level MCMC to ECI within 48 hrs of receiving of order from this Committee. The decision of ECI shall be final.

11. Additional Checks • District Collectors have been instructed to take meeting with Political Parties as well as media houses to alert them against surrogate advertising and Paid News and consequences of violation. • Political parties and media houses have been briefed and sensitized in advance at HQs. • ECI has written to Press Council of India for support to strengthen this mechanism.

12. Decided cases of paid news • Once the cases are decided as paid news, the print media cases should be sent to ECI for referring it to PCI for action against the concerned Media House. • Paid News cases related to electronic media are to be referred by the Commission to National Broadcasters Association for consideration by National Broadcasting Standards Authority (NBSA).

13. Some Illustrations • Identical articles with photographs and headlines appearing in competing publications carrying by-lines of different authors around the same time. • On the same page of specific newspapers, articles praising competing candidates claiming that both are likely to win the same elections. • News item stating that one candidate is getting the support of each and every section of societyand that he would win elections from the constituency.

14. Illustrations-more • News items favouring a candidate, not carrying any byline. • Newspaperpublishing a banner headline stating that a party/candidate is ready to create history in the state/constituency but not carrying any news item related to this headline. • News item saying that the good work done by a Party/Candidate had marginalised the electoral prospects of the other party/candidate in the state with each and every sentence of the news item in favour of the party/candidate.

15. Illustrations - more • There are instances of fixed size news items, each say of a length of 125-150 words with a double-column photo. The fixed size news items hid more than they revealed. News items are seldom written in such a rigid format and size whereas advertisements are most often. • In specific newspapers, multiple font types and multiple drop case styles were noticed within the same page of a single newspaper. This happened because just about everything – the layouts, fonts, printouts, photographs – was provided by candidates who had paid for slots in the pages of the newspaper.

16. Considerations • PCI has not provided any conclusive criteria to adjudge Paid News • The illustrations and decided case examples of Paid News are for guidance of MCMC. These are not exhaustive. • Application of mind by MCMC is the key. Hence, decisions should always be by the committee and not by individuals. • PCI has expressed inability to nominate members to district committees. Nominations by DEOs should be judicious.

17. Status

18. Challenges • There is circumstantial evidence, but little proof. Establishing transaction of cash or kind is indeed not very easy, as it is usually done without any record and promptly denied by both sides, when enquired. • Media violations, surrogate advertisement and unreported advertisements are often mistaken as Paid News by MCMC. A suspect case of Paid News only begins from a news item. • Timelines are quite tight. However if these are not maintained, it is not possible to account expenditure on Paid News in a particular election process.

19. Way ahead • The Commission considers self regulation by political parties, candidates and media houses as one of the main solution to this malaise. • The enforcement needs to be more streamlined and the instructions would require higher clarity. • As the Commission’s intention is more preventive rather than punitive, it is undertaking educational campaign on Paid News involving political parties, media houses and other stakeholders.

20. Thank You Communications Division Election Commission of India